Lawyer: Man Not Responsible In Wife`s Death

But his attorney blames Donnadio`s mental illness and a former Broward Sheriff`s Office deputy for the Jan. 31 slaying.

``He pulled the trigger but he shouldn`t be held responsible,`` said Larry Davis, who represents Donnadio.

Donnadio, of the 3200 block of Northwest First Street, Pompano Beach, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Cindy. The trial, before Broward Circuit Judge Stanton Kaplan, began on Tuesday and is scheduled to continue today.

Cindy Donnadio moved away from her husband in October 1986. She was traveling with Jose Sanchez, a former sheriff`s deputy, the day she was killed.

Sanchez, who is scheduled to testify, was fired after the shooting and now works in Palm Beach.

Sanchez and Cindy Donnadio had stopped at a gas station in the 5900 block of West Oakland Park Boulevard when David Donnadio confronted them and Sanchez pulled a gun.

``If Sanchez hadn`t drawn his weapon, this never would have happened,`` Davis said.

After Donnadio hit him, Sanchez dropped the gun and Donnadio grabbed it. As his wife fled, Donnadio followed and shot her, Marcus said.

Davis acknowledged that Donnadio shot Cindy Donnadio. But he told jurors that his client had always been obsessed with her.

The couple eloped in 1980 when Cindy was 16 and David was 20. Once when he saw her talking to a boy, David Donnadio reacted by charging into a telephone pole, Davis said.

After she moved out of their home on Halloween 1986, David Donnadio made a final effort to win her back. He carried flowers, her wedding rings, their marriage certificate -- and a stun gun -- to the restaurant where she worked.

If he could not persuade her to return, he planned to stun her and take her home, Davis said.